| Four strains of fungi of the genera Aspergillus were evaluated for organic acid production on solid substrates (corncobs, apple pomace, rice and hay). It was demonstrated that different organic acids were produced from the different substrates by each fungal strain.; Through a comparison of the lead extraction by the filtrates of four fungal strains generated on different substrates, it was demonstrated that the fungal filtrates generated during A. foetidus NRRL 337 fermentation of rice performed the best with respect to lead extraction. These filtrates had the highest concentrations of citric acid as compared to the other filtrates, therefore it was concluded that citric acid was the strongest metal chelator among the fungal organic acids produced.; The soil column studies demonstrated that the lead extraction efficiency up to 34% could be achieved. It was concluded that higher metal extraction efficiency could be attained by better control of the process variables. |
